Malaysia
bans weekly newspaper
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (AFP) - The
Malaysian government has banned a weekly newspaper which specialises in
reporting political issues, its editor-in-chief said Friday.
Jalil Ali said the Home Ministry had failed
to renew the publishing permit for the Malay-language tabloid Eksklusif
(Exclusive).
Local rights group Aliran said the ban
"perhaps reflects the government's contempt of the very notion of press
freedom."
Eksklusif has failed to appear since its
previous licence expired April 15. Jalil told AFP that three appeals to the
ministry since then for a renewal had failed.
He said Eksklusif would continue to appeal:
"We really hope the government can be more liberal and relaxed on
this."
Jalil said his paper had a circulation of
180,000 at its peak and had taken an independent stance. "We are not pro-
any side."
He said the ministry gave no reason for
refusing to renew the licence.
Home ministry officials were unavailable for
comment.
The ministry, which licenses all
publications as part of strict press curbs, has acted against other
publications seen as pro-opposition in the past but denies any political
motive.
The online newspaper Malaysiakini quoted
Tengku Mahmood Tengku Ismail, head of the ministry's publications unit, as
saying Eksklusif's permit was not renewed because of "imbalanced
reporting" and non-compliance with various regulations.
Mahmood reportedly said the ministry would
consider the paper's application if it sought a permit next year.
Malaysiakini said the youth magazine
Al-Wasilah also had its permit cancelled last month.
It added: "It is believed that the ban
on the monthly teen magazine is due to its political coverage which has an
opposition slant."
Aliran said the ban on Eksklusif and other
publications "has reinforced public perceptions that the government is
determined to clamp down on publications that are seen to be critical,
investigative and independent."
If Eksklusif was banned for unbalanced
reporting, the rights group said, the same sanctions should also apply to those
mainstream newspapers which were guilty of one-sided reporting.
The ministry earlier this year closed down
another publication, Detik, seen as critical of the government.
In March it severely curbed circulation of
the newspaper of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia. Harakah's publishing
permit was renewed for only two issues a month instead of two a week as
previously.
Harakah's editor Zulkifli Sulong is currently
on trial for sedition, punishable by up to three years' jail, for an article on
the trial of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
The US-based Committee to Protect
Journalists in May named Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as one of the world's
top ten enemies of the press.